Puppy Love
by EvilRegalOncer
Summary: Turning around, planting her hands on her hips and summoning her very best Evil Queen glare, Regina growled, "I don't know what you're doing here or how you're in my house, but I'm taking you to the animal shelter as soon as I change clothes, do you understand me? And furthermore, if you ruin my carpets or any of my furniture, I'll skin you alive and use you as a throw pillow."


**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Once.**

**So I was talking with a friend of mine on tumblr (she's on here under tonguemarksonmymirror and you should check her out, especially if you ship SwanQueen), and we decided that Regina needs a puppy. Then I had the idea that she comes across a stray Golden Retriever pup in FTL and decides to keep it, but when Zelena rips them all back to our world, Regina obviously forgets about it. So she wakes up one day to find a puppy in her house with no idea how it got there. Then i pounded out this little ficlet. I might do a series of one shots with Regina and the puppy depending on the reception to this one. Also, I literally dashed this off in ten minutes, so any errors are all mine.**

* * *

Regina couldn't decide what was more alarming, the fact that she was in Storybrooke, in her mansion like nothing had ever happened, or that there was a ball of fuzz following her around like some kind of...well...puppy.

Turning around, planting her hands on her hips and summoning her very best Evil Queen glare, Regina growled, "I don't know what you're doing here or how you're in my house, but I'm taking you to the animal shelter as soon as I change clothes, do you understand me? And furthermore, if you ruin my carpets or any of my furniture, I'll skin you alive and use you as a throw pillow."

The offending party sat down and tilted its head as if trying to comprehend what Regina was saying. After a moment it let out a high-pitched yip, tail wagging to and fro. Regina groaned and raked a hand through her hair, debating on whether nor not to use a spell and turn the pup into something useful, like an extra office chair. Ultimately, however, she found herself unable to do that and resigned herself to having to pick up and carry the stupid thing out to her car.

_I'm going to let that thing in my car? Well, it _is_ already in my house..._

* * *

_Fuck_.

Regina gritted her teeth and very pointedly ignored the way that a warm, fuzzy head was snuggled against her thigh. After gingerly carrying the puppy out to her car and having a hell of a time holding on as it squirmed, Regina had placed it on a nest of thick towels in the backseat only to find, to her disgruntlement, that it insisted on curling up next to her and using her leg as a pillow. _Why the hell is this thing so attached to me?_

Moreover, why on earth was she back in Storybrooke? The curse should have transported them back to the Enchanted Forest. She'd watched Henry and Emma drive off before turning to face Pan's curse, to change it...

_Henry._

A sudden, wrenching pain in her chest almost made Regina lose control of the car. Her knuckles whitened on the wheel as she valiantly fought to keep her composure, but the thought of her son was enough to make her shatter. Regina barely managed to pull over and put the car in park before hiding her face in her hands and breaking down into wracking sobs. Her son, her baby boy, was gone, and she'd never see him again. And he didn't even remember who she was; never even knew she existed.

_Oh, Henry..._

Caught up in her grief, Regina almost didn't notice the soft whining noise or the cold, wet nose nuzzling at her fingers. It was the ear-shattering yip that made her cringe and jerk back, a sharp retort on her lips. But then she saw soft brown eyes looking at her, full of concern, and for some reason the anger just vanished.

The puppy whined again and gently licked her face, planting its front paws on her shoulders in order to balance. In spite of herself, Regina couldn't help wrapping the small animal in her arms, burying her face in soft fur and releasing what felt like years' worth of pain and loss. Although it had squirmed earlier, now the puppy seemed content to let her hold it as she cried, snuggling against her chest and tucking its head underneath her chin. Occasionally it would crane its head back and lick her cheek, and even though Regina was a little disgusted by the fact that she was getting dog spit all over her face, she honestly didn't care.

An eternity seemed to pass before Regina took a deep breath and let go, gently but firmly placing her companion in the passenger seat. The pup looked at her anxiously, and in spite of everything she felt the tiniest of smiles touch her lips.

"All right," she said softly, reaching out to gently rub its head. "You can stay, if you want. It seems you've already made up your mind anyways."

It seemed fitting, after all. Henry had always wanted a dog as a child, and even though he was gone, getting one made her feel just a bit closer to him. Letting out a shaky breath, Regina turned the key in the ignition and looked over at the puppy.

"Let's go home."


End file.
